In Real Women Have Curves, a young woman's college dreams are held at bay by her mother, who wants her to get a job, find a husband, and have babies.
The young woman is the child of an immigrant, and while I always think of immigrants as wanting their children to lead better lives, Ana's mother Carmen seems to actively not want that. She constantly insults and belittles Ana and is a difficult character to emphasize with.
This is not to say that Ana is perfect, displaying some youthful arrogance, but America Ferrera in her film debut displays all the charm that has made her a star.
While the movie centers on the daughter-mother conflict, it's really about all sorts of things - body acceptance, the immigrant experience, youthful passions and insecurities.
This is a small, slice-of-life movie with solid acting. I tend to like movies with more flash and higher drama, but this is very much the movie it sets out to be and works quite well.
The young woman is the child of an immigrant, and while I always think of immigrants as wanting their children to lead better lives, Ana's mother Carmen seems to actively not want that. She constantly insults and belittles Ana and is a difficult character to emphasize with.
This is not to say that Ana is perfect, displaying some youthful arrogance, but America Ferrera in her film debut displays all the charm that has made her a star.
While the movie centers on the daughter-mother conflict, it's really about all sorts of things - body acceptance, the immigrant experience, youthful passions and insecurities.
This is a small, slice-of-life movie with solid acting. I tend to like movies with more flash and higher drama, but this is very much the movie it sets out to be and works quite well.